5 Year CrossFit Anniversary Post 1

My 5 year CrossFit anniversary was Sunday. It was also Father's Day so I didn't want to steal my dad's thunder, but it felt like a momentous occasion. A lot has happened and changed in five years, and I credit all of the good things to my decision to start CrossFit.

I chose my CrossFit anniversary as the date I started CrossFit Essentials, basically the same on-ramp, foundations, 101 you took at your CrossFit, because it was the day I committed to being a member at CrossFit Hell's Kitchen. Earlier that month, I had convinced my friend and then-co-worker Selby to take me with him to a class. We did Nicole. I got stuck in a pull-up band hanging from the rig. Years before (in 2010), an old boyfriend took me to a soon-to-open aspiring CrossFit affiliate in Connecticut. None of the things I love about CrossFit (the community, barbells, lady wolfpacks of badass women) were there because it wasn't actually open yet and so I kept my Equinox membership for three more years. Sometimes I regret that, because what if my first CrossFit experience was awesome and I had started back in 2010? But I don't think I was ready for it yet. I needed to become an ultrarunner and continue to make terrible life decisions for a while.

So in honor of my 5 year CrossFit anniversary, this week I am going to share five things that have changed since I started. The first is how I dress.

These are photos my friend and former-co-worker Jesse took of me at our Mega Desk the week of my Essentials classes. First, let's take a moment to just bask in the glory of that hair. Second, those are those awful baggy Nike diaper shorts, a Brooks DriLayer shirt, and K•Swiss sneakers. I thought I looked damn good.

This is me this morning with my lady friends.

And this is me last week taking selfies for my #fleoshortsfriday series on Instagram. Did you know you can look at my ass each week by following @inshapeoutofmind ?

I switched to Reebok Nanos, discovered Fleo Shorts, and stopped wearing a shirt except for during the warm-ups. I feel good about myself. I work hard. And I don't like leg prisons.

Yesterday the extra piece was six 800 m runs with a 1:1 rest in between each. On the way back each run, I could see my side fat jiggle in my shadow. That would have crushed me in 2013 and even in 2015. But instead, I tugged at my booty short wedgie, ran back into the gym, and proceeded to show off my abysmal dance moves in between runs with my friend Kelsey.

CrossFit has made me see my body and what I put on it as something for my pleasure, and not someone else's.